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December 18, 2007

Presbyterian News Service realigns ‘beat’ system

Reporting assignments follow new GAC structure

by Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian News Service has announced a realignment of its “beat” system that tracks with the new structure of the General Assembly Council (GAC).

Each PNS reporter — Jerry L. Van Marter, Evan Silverstein and Toya Richards Hill — will cover two of the six new mission program areas and will divide up coverage of the other entities of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Van Marter will cover the Vocation office — a joint ministry of the Office of the General Assembly and the GAC.

In the previous GAC structure, each reporter was responsible for coverage of one of the three ministry “divisions” — Congregational Ministries, National Ministries and Worldwide Ministries.

“PC(USA) staff and readers are best served if they know who is covering what on a regular basis,” said PNS Coordinator Jerry L. Van Marter. “With the restructure of the General Assembly Council now virtually complete, it made sense for us to realign our beat system accordingly.”

The new beats, which go into effect Jan. 1, 2008:

Van Marter:     Theology, Worship and Education program area
                      Evangelism and Church Growth program area
                      Executive Director’s Office (except the Advisory                       Committee on Social Witness Policy)
                      Vocation
                      Communications and Funds Development — Funds                       Development and the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts &                       Hands
                      Board of Pensions
                      Office of the General Assembly — Ecumenical Relations
                      Synod and Presbytery news

Silverstein:      Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries program area
                      Relief and Development program area
                      Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy
                      Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation
                      Office of the General Assembly — Committee on the                       Office of the General Assembly
                      Presbyterian colleges’ news

Hill:                 Peace and Justice program area
                      World Mission program area
                      Communications and Funds Development — Mission                       Interpretation (including Presbyterians Today, Special                       Offerings, Mission Yearbooks, Presbyterian Planning                       Calendar)
                      Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program
                      Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
                      Office of the General Assembly — Constitutional Services
                      Presbyterian seminaries’ news

Van Marter will assign stories that don’t fall within the new beat system.

PNS reporters will also be working closely with GAC’s “communications associates” — staff members of the Office of Communications and Funds Development who are deployed within the six program areas to facilitate their communications efforts.

Four associates are currently in place — Rob Klouw in Evangelism and Church Growth; Mary Pace in Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries; Pat Cole in World Mission; and Emily Enders Odom in the Executive Director’s Office/Mission Initiative. Three others are yet to be hired.

“The communications associates are extremely important for us,” Van Marter said. “We want to make sure our news coverage reflects the priorities and most important ministries of the GAC and its program areas, so we’ll be in almost constant contact with these colleagues.”

PNS is also expanding its coverage of the mission and ministries of PC(USA) congregations. “The GAC has shifted its focus to supporting the mission and ministries of our congregations,” Van Marter noted, “so it makes perfect sense for us to publish more stories about the lives of our congregations. We hope readers will let us know about the interesting things they are doing so we can help tell the rest of the church about them.”